Under Addendum o, the purpose of the standard would be rewritten to focus on goals, as opposed to strategies. For example, rather than energy efficiency, the goal of reduced building emissions would be included in the purpose.
A new section of the purpose speaks to the alignment of Standard 189.1 with the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), noting the standard is intended to serve as the technical basis of mandatory codes and regulations for high-performance buildings.
Standard 189.1 currently is a compliance option of the 2015 IgCC, published by the International Code Council, ASTM, and The American Institute of Architects. It will serve as the technical content for the IgCC beginning in 2018.
Addendum o will be open for public review until May 8, 2016. Other addenda open for public review until then are:
- Addendum I, which reorganizes the section on roof heat-island mitigation and adds new provisions for vegetated terrace and roofing systems relative to plant selection, growing medium, roof-membrane protection, and clearances. Additionally, it proposes provisions for the operation and maintenance of vegetated roofs.
- Addendum n, which clarifies Footnote b to Table 7.5.2A. This footnote provides a method to adjust the percent reduction for buildings with unregulated energy cost exceeding 35 percent of total energy cost. Addendum n clarifies the adjustment is to be made on the basis of energy cost, not energy use.
- Addendum p, which proposes the addition of requirements for water-bottle-filling stations, which are intended to improve water efficiency and sanitation of public drinking water and to reduce the environmental effects of plastic bottles.
- Addendum r, which lowers the ductwork pressure-testing threshold to include 3-in.-pressure-class ducts, which are common upstream of variable-air-volume boxes.
- Addendum t, which adds new requirements for reverse-osmosis and on-site reclaimed-water systems to reduce the likelihood of excessive water use from poor design of water-treatment and filter systems.
- Addendum u, which adds new requirements for water softeners to reduce water consumption.
Open for public review until May 23, 2016, are:
- Addendum q, which modifies chapters 5, 7, 8, and 11, as well as appendices A and E, to reflect the addition of Climate Zone 0 to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 169-2013, Climatic Data for Building Design Standards.
- Addendum s, which removes the performance option for water use and moves the prescriptive option into the mandatory section.
ASHRAE/IES/USGBC/ICC Standard 189.1 contains minimum requirements for the siting, design, and construction of high-performance green buildings in support of reducing building energy use, resource consumption, and other environmental impacts while maintaining acceptable indoor environments.
For more information and to comment, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.